And yes, disclaimer: Sen. Litzow's Democratic opponent, Maureen Judge, is my ex-wife.

I can't imagine there are still undecideds out there who don't know about the GOP's numerous gaffes on women's issues.

Ok, I can imagine it, but they'd seriously have to have been intentionally forcing themselves to run from the media in order not to hear anything.

@3 I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you are male.

And here's what a lot of men (OK, most conservative men) don't get: not every woman would choose abortion, not every woman wants to be on birth control, not every woman wants to be a radical feminist, and many women do want to stay home and embrace the "traditional" role of full-time mother, etc. But the idea that they shouldn't be allowed to make their own decisions on those issues - that those decisions should solely be up to grizzled old white men in Congress - is offensive.

The truth is, the GOP wants to force women to re-fight all their past battles to achieve dignity, equality and autonomy in American society. Women aren't stupid (despite what the Todd Akins and Rick Santorums of the world might think). They understand what's happening. I see this every day from the women in my life. The "War on Women" is not a media construct, or a Democratic meme, or alarmist rhetoric. This is how WOMEN are describing it. And as men, if we're not listening, and if we're not as upset as they are, we are part of the problem.

A few months ago I was listening to NPR (Fresh Air, I believe, though perhaps TOTN) and they had on a historian talking about the GOP's embrace of the pro-life stance (and consequently all the other religious right's nonsense that accompanies that -- opposition to birth control, etc...)

Turns out the GOP didn't even have a formal stance on the issue until a certain presidential candidate realized he had an opportunity to woo a huge voting bloc. That candidate? (prepare for a shock...) Nixon! Though honestly, I'm not at all convinced the dems wouldn't have done the exact same thing if they'd had the opportunity or "thought of it" first.

Anyway, it's a shame, as it really compromises & cheapens the debate. If we weren't wasting time having the type of childish arguments that we do with @3 and other like-minded trolls, I'm sure we could have a far more interesting dialogue regarding the role of government, market controls and civil liberties.

@4,

Birth control also fails.

This has got to be the best summary I've seen of the topic. Too bad so many (such as the trolls) are incapable of grasping such simple concepts.

@3: Contraception is important for some women not to prevent pregnancy per se, but because of serious complications from heavy periods and bleeding. I prefer not to go into details, but I suggest you do a little research or better yet, consult with a woman you might know.

A woman he might know! Hahahahaha! Best joke ever.

Sorry Goldy, I already voted for McKenna. My first Republican vote for any significant office in more than 35 years. Why did I do it? Because it's high time that the Democrats in Washington State have the living shit scared out of them, so they'll do their fucking jobs in the next legislative session and stop playing around with the bullshit from the fake "progressive" yuppies of Seattle.